REDWOOD GROVE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
Enjoy a magical music experience under towering redwoods in the Berkeley Hills.
TONIGHT’S SHOW: Kitka – is SOLD OUT
The women of Kitka are fearless sonic explorers, and their intrepid spirit resonates in every haunting song. For forty-five seasons, this ten-voice ensemble from Oakland, California has cultivated a vast and breathtaking repertoire of traditional and contemporary music from the Balkan, Baltic, Caucasian, Mediterranean, and Slavic lands, alongside original songs inspired by the vocal techniques and sonorities of these regions.
Through decades of travel to rural communities across Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, Kitka has gathered songs directly from tradition bearers—often elders who are among the last living links to centuries-old collective singing practices. The ensemble’s ravishing vocal textures—at once ethereal and earthy, shimmering and raw—create performances that are both deeply moving and utterly unforgettable.
Kitka’s Redwood Grove concert celebrates the summer solstice and the June 18 global release of Kolo, the ensemble’s thirteenth album on their own independent Diaphonica label. Derived from a Proto-Balto-Slavic root, kolo means “circle” or “wheel,” and refers to the spiraling communal line dances found across Eastern Europe. The album evokes cosmic cycles of creation, growth, destruction, and renewal—the eternal turning of seasons and the shared rhythms of lives and voices woven together.
Kolo is available in a limited-edition double-vinyl release, on compact disc, and soon via digital download and Dolby Atmos.
“Their power and energy is exotic and exhilarating… showcasing the beauty and vitality of female voices.” – NPR
“Even God stops to listen when Kitka — unamplified, without sets, props, instruments, or even lyrics most people can understand—opens its collective mouth. The sound is so chillingly beautiful, by anyone’s standards, that the entire audience sits enraptured, most of them with eyes shut. My own eyes flooded with tears.” – The Guardian
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CONCERT INFORMATION AND TICKET POLICIES
All concert ticket sales are final and non-refundable. The value is not transferable to another concert or program.
Tickets are by registration; no physical tickets available. Your name and number of tickets will be on the check-in list available at the Ticket Booth Kiosk and Grove Gate.
Ticket includes Botanical Garden admission ($18 adult value) before the collections close at 5:00pm.
Redwood Grove Gate opens at 5pm. Show starts promptly at 5:30pm.
Parking at the Botanical Garden is NOT guaranteed. The adjacent UC parking lot has 73 spaces – rideshare and carpooling is highly encouraged. A UC Berkeley campus shuttle is available from overflow parking at LHS but departs every 30 minutes. Last ride back up is at 7:07pm. Please plan accordingly!
Seating is general admission wood bench amphitheater. (Stadium chairs work great, and are available to rent.) Please contact us in advance if you will need a wheelchair accessible spot or other accommodation.
Picnics welcome. Generally no concessions provided. Smoking/vaping/pets/alcohol prohibited per UC Berkeley policy. Warm clothes recommended.
